Control

Control
by Charlotte Stein
Rating: 4 of 5 stars

My Review:
This wasn't one of my favorite Charlotte Stein books, but I've seen it get a lot of press, so I wanted to check it out. It is so psychologically deep, even though it's almost completely sex, that I had trouble putting it down. I kept thinking about these characters for ages.

All of the sex was sort-of so-so for me. It was still well written, but I just didn't care for a lot of it. It's very filthy and pushes lots of boundaries, but who else could write sex almost cover to cover and have it all mean something so important.

Madison and Gabe are totally messed up characters. And we don't exactly know why. We get little teeny bits about their issues and we're left to infer the rest through the sexual activities. In this book, with this author, that totally works. Most of the Charlotte Stein books that I've read have been fun romps that are absurd and fun, this one was on the more sad side. So often I wanted to cover my mouth and cry and the characters just can't bring themselves out of their fears.

Gabe was sheltered and isolated as a child, but he's got a secret erotica/kinky addiction. For him, “...ordinary life is a privilege, not a right”. Madison, I'm not too sure about. She's messed up, but we're not given too many details of why. I couldn't stop thinking about these two. I had no idea how they'd make it through and I kept feeling like it was going to be a very unfulfilling ending, but it all worked out beautifully.

One of the best things in the whole book:
“Don't live through me, don't wait for me to tell you exciting stories, before you go for it. You don't need someone to persuade you into exploring everything there is about yourself, and even if it scares you...even if you're terrified – and probably about all of the wrong things – it's still more bliss than whatever nothing you were living before.”

Charlotte Stein so effortlessly grabs me and makes me see myself in each of her characters. I'm so happy to see them working through their issues and accepting themselves. This wasn't one of my favorites, but definitely a worthwhile read.